S. Sloan Colt
Samuel Sloan Colt | |
|---|---|
| Born | 13 July 1892 New York City, U.S. |
| Died | 2 May 1975 (aged 82) |
| Occupation(s) | Banking executive, public official, benefactor |
| Known for | President and chairman of Bankers Trust; chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey; director at Federal Reserve Bank of New York |
Samuel Sloan Colt (July 13, 1892 – May 2, 1975) was a distinguished American public official, banking executive, and benefactor. His leadership roles included serving as president and chairman of Bankers Trust, commissioner and later chairman of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, as well as a director at the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
Early life
Born in New York City on July 13, 1892, Colt was the sole male child of Richard Collins Colt (1863–1938) and Mary Adelaide (née Sloan) Colt (1868–1954), proprietors of Curry Farm located in Garrison, New York. He had two sisters: Catherine Dunscomb Colt, who married Charles Denston Dickey Jr., a senior partner at J.P. Morgan & Co., and Mary Sloan Colt, married to Louis Curtis Jr. His father’s profession was importing goods through Collins & Co.
His paternal lineage traced back to Harris Colt and Catherine (née Dunscomb) Colt. On his mother’s side were Margaret (née Elmendorf) Sloan and Samuel Sloan, a former New York State Senator and longtime leader of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Railroad. Among his relatives was cousin James C. Auchincloss, who served as a U.S. Representative from New York.
Colt completed his secondary education at the Groton School in 1910 before earning his degree from Yale University in 1914.
Career
Following his graduation from Yale, Colt began his professional journey with the Farmers' Loan & Trust Company. During World War I, he was commissioned in the United States Army Ordnance Department stationed in Washington, D.C., concluding his military service honorably with the rank of major. After the war, he returned to Farmers', where he advanced to vice president by 1925 until its merger with National City Bank (now Citibank) in 1929.
In 1930, Colt became vice president and director at Bankers Trust, ascending to the presidency in 1931 at just 38 years old, succeeding Henry J. Cochran. He maintained leadership for 27 years and was appointed chairman in 1956. Upon retiring in 1957, he was succeeded by William Moore but continued serving on the board until 1965.
Governor Thomas E. Dewey appointed him commissioner of the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey in 1946; he later assumed the chairmanship in 1959, holding that position until his retirement in 1968. Additionally, under Presidents Harry S. Truman and Dwight Eisenhower, Colt contributed to national initiatives, including Eisenhower’s Advisory Committee on the National Highway Program starting in 1954.
Colt also led Eurofund Inc. between 1959 and 1968 and was a longstanding trustee of the Mutual Life Insurance Company of New York (now part of Axa). His board memberships extended to prominent corporations such as the Federal Reserve Bank of New York (1944–1946), General Electric Company (1940–1963), American Can Company (1943–1965), Pan Am beginning in 1931, and General Foods from 1932 onward. His leadership positions included trustee and treasurer roles at the Tax Foundation, presidency of both the New York Clearing House Association (in 1955 and 1957), and the presidency of the New York State Bankers' Association in 1935.
Philanthropy
Colt held the position of national chairman for the War Fund Program between 1941 and 1942, while also serving as director and treasurer for its New York chapter from 1945 to 1958. His philanthropic commitments included trusteeship of the American Red Cross endowment fund from 1953 to 1961, treasurer and trustee roles with the Metropolitan Opera Association between 1941 and 1957, as well as president and trustee duties for the National Fund for Medical Education from 1949 to 1964.
He established the S. Sloan Colt Professorship of Banking and International Finance at Columbia University; this chair was first occupied in 1958 by Roger F. Murray, a pioneer in value investing strategies. Subsequent holders have included Roy Blough—an economist active during Roosevelt’s and Truman’s administrations—and currently Lawrence Glosten, who serves as chair of finance and economics at Columbia Business School.
Additional philanthropic efforts saw Colt acting as treasurer for Recordings for the Blind from 1951 to 1961, alongside his role as governor and executive committee member of the Federal Hall Memorial Association spanning from 1939 through 1958.
Personal life
In January 1918, Colt wed heiress Margaret Van Buren Mason, the daughter of George Grant Mason, who had inherited a considerable fortune from James Henry Smith. Together, they had three children: Marion Mason Colt, who married MacLean Williamson; Catherine C. Colt, who became the wife of attorney David Wendell Yandell; and Richard Colt, who married Cynthia de Bottari. The family owned several homes, notably a maisonette at 740 Park Avenue and subsequently the River House in New York City.
Following his divorce from Margaret in 1945—who later remarried Brig. Gen. Paul Everton Peabody—Colt married Anne King Weld McLane, daughter of Edward Motley Weld, a former president of the New York Stock Exchange. Their primary residence was River House, with their New York home famously captured by photographer Samuel Gottscho in 1961.
Colt passed away on May 2, 1975, at his residence in Westhampton Beach and was interred at Westhampton Cemetery. His second wife died in 1982.
Honors and awards
Colt received an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from Colgate University in 1936 and was awarded an honorary Doctor of Commercial Science by New York University in 1950. Additionally, in 1949, he was named a Chevalier of the Legion of Honor by France.
External links
- 44 Years in American Banking: 1903-1947 authored by S. Sloan Colt (1947), New York: Newcomen Society of England, American Branch